Tool for



E. H. KIND.-

TOOL FOR APPLYING AND REMOVING PISTON RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 1919.

1,319,007. Patented Oct. 14,1919.

B M/M 7111s Fffarnqys.

EDWIN H. KIND, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

TOOL FOR APPLYING- AND REMOVING PISTON-RINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 14, 1919.

Application filed January 10, 1919. Serial No. 270,313.

To, all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWIN H. KIND, a c1t1'zen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Tools for Applying and Removing Piston Rings, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to tools for applying and removing piston rings andthe object in particular is to provide a hand-operated tool which may beused to conveniently and expeditiously apply and remove the customarypiston rings which are used upon pistons of internal combustion engines.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will be understood fromthe detailed description thereof and the novel features embodied in} myinventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the applicationof my intion in one form,

Figure 1 is a view of the device in side elevation showing in dottedlines the device as it appears when operated. Fig. 2 is a section on theline 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the device inposition to remove a piston ring. Fig. 4 is a side view of one of thejaws as it appears looking toward the-left in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a viewin section on the line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail View looking atthe front of the jaws and showing the device operated to expand a pistonring. Fig. 7 is a view of the device in side elevation showing the rearend used for removing carbon or soot from a groove in the piston. Fig. 8is a detail view showing the jaws positioned transversely of the groovefor removing carbon.

Referring to the particular construction illustrated in the drawings,the tool comprises a pair of hand members 10 and 12 pivoted together bymeans of a screw or bolt 14. The forward ends of the members 10 and 12are each provided with similar jaws constructed as follows. Each memberis bent inwardly toward the other member at 16 and then bent downwardlyat 18 to provide the jaw members 20, adapted to be held together exceptwhen forced apart as shown in Fig. 6. In order to normally hold the jawsin closed position, a curved spring 22 is secured at one end in suitablemanner to the hand member 10 and the other end,

which is free, rests upon the inner surface of the hand member 12whereby the rear ends of the members which are gripped by the hand areheld normally separated from each other. In order to limit the extent towhich the jaws can be opened so as not to place too much strain on thering, the member 10 has secured to it, a screw-threaded rod 24 having afree end which passes through a slot 26 in the member 12. A nut 28 ofgreater diameter than the width of the slot 26 is threaded upon the rod24 and constitutes an adjustable stop to limit the opening movement ofthe jaws in opposition to the tension of the spring 22. In order thatthe plston rings may be properly engaged to expand them, the jaws 20 areprovided with notches 30 on their oppositely-facing edges. The llmitingtop and bottom walls 32 and 34 of these notches constitute squareshoulders and each side of the vertical wall of the notch is beveled toform a sharp edge 35 at the middle line of the wall. The bottom 'of thejaws may be curved to correspond with the curvature of the piston asindicated in Fig. 3. In this manner the ends of the split ring may besecurely engaged by the jaws without liability of the jaws slipping off.The rear ends of the members 10 and 12 are beveled at 36 to providesharp edges in order that the two may be employed as shown in Fig. 7 forscraping carbon or soot out of the groove in the piston 40. As shownparticularly in Fig. 2, the jaws 20 are preferably slightly inclinedoutwardly in order to facilitate the use of the tool in applying andremoving piston rings.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodfrom the foregoing description. In order to remove a piston ring fromits groove, the tool is placed so that the jaws engage the ends of thesplit ring, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon applying pressure by the hand tothe rear ends of the members 10 and 12 the jaws are opened and thepiston ring is expanded, as shown in Fig. 6, so that it may be readilyremoved from the groove in the piston. In order to apply a piston ring,the ring is first expanded by the tool in the manner indicated, and itmay then be readily slid over the piston into position and then releasedso as to fit into the groove. Before applying a ring, any deposit ofcarbon in the groove may be removed in the manner shown in Fig. 7, andcarbon may also be removed from the groove by placing the jawstransversely of the groove, as shown in Fig. 8, and moving the toolaroundthe circumference.

I claim:

1. A tool for applying and removing pis ton rings comprising a pair ofhand members pivoted together, the front ends of said members being benttoward each other and then being bent downwardly to constitute jaws,said jaws being provided with notches on their oppositely facing edges,and the vertical walls of said notches being sharpened to provide teethfor engagement with the ends of a split ring for expanding the latterwhen said jaws are separated.

2. A tool for applying and removing piston rings comprising a pair ofhand members pivoted together, the front ends of said members being benttoward each other and then being bent downwardly and slightly inclinedoutwardly with relation to. the length of the tool to constitute laws,said jaws being provided with notches on their oppositely facing edges,and the vertical walls of said notches being sharpened to provide teethfor engagement with the ends of a split ring for expanding the latterwhen said edges are separated.

3. A tool for applying and removing piston rings comprising a pair ofhand members pivoted together, the front ends of said members being benttoward each other and then being bent downwardly and slightly inclinedoutwardly with relation to the length of the tool to constitute jaws,said jaws being provided with notches on their oppositely facing edgesfor engagement with the ends of a split ring for expanding the latterwhen said jaws are separated, and an adjustable stop connected with saidhand members for limiting the amount of the separation of said jaws.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

EDWIN H. KIND.

